Alex Docherty

Who is Frank McAveety?

Glasgow City Councils current leader Frank McAveety was born in 1962. He first became a councillor in 1988. He became Leader of Glasgow City Council the first time round in 1997, however he only remained the leader of Glasgow City Council until 1999, when he ran for the then newly created Scottish Parliament.

He was elected as MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, and was part of the Scottish Executive of the Labour-Lib Dem Coalition Government.

He was re-elected as MSP for Glasgow Shettleston in 2003, he was then made Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. It was during this time the McAveety set up the National Theatre of Scotland and lead a campaign to move the Headquarters of SportScotland to the East End of Glasgow. However McAveety was removed from then First Minister Jack McConnell’s cabinet after showing up late to Ministerial Question time, because he was eating Pie and lying about it.

Templeton on the Green, Where SportScotland is based.

Despite this McAveety was re-elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2007, he became the Shadow-Minister of Sport, as by this point Labour were the official opposition to the SNP’s minority Government. After the 2007 election McAveety served as the Convener of the Scottish Parliaments’ Public Petitions Committee, a position he later resigned from in 2010, after being over heard commenting on a female audience members appearance during a committee meeting.

McAveety ran for the Scottish Parliament’s Glasgow Shettleston constituency again in 2011, but he was not re-elected, he lost to the SNP’s John Mason. After being defeated in the Scottish Parliament election he ran for Glasgow City Council’s Shettleston ward in 2012 , he received more first preference votes than anyone else running including the two incumbent councillors.

In 2015 then Council Leader Gordon Matheson stood down from his position in order to pursue a seat in the Scottish Parliament in 2016, which he later pulled out of. Gordon Mathesion stood down earlier this year, and the SNP’s Angus Miller, won his seat in a by-election. McAveety became leader of Glasgow City Council Leader for a Second time in September 2015. It looks very likely that McAveety will still be leader of Glasgow City Council’s Labour Group after the election even if they don’t form the majority, but that is of course if he manages to keep his seat.